Moscow refuses to choose in Kyrgyzstan

This Moscow Times report may go some way to explaining why there were rumours that Kyrgyz President Akayev had fled Bishkek at the weekend, and why he failed to appear on tv as scheduled.  I’m not sure how accurate this report is but, if it is true, it may signal that President Putin is finally beginning to learn some lessons from the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions.

Akayev secretly visited Moscow last weekend to seek support, but President Vladimir Putin did not meet with him, said Arkady Dubnov, a Central Asia observer with Vremya Novostei. Dubnov, citing what he described as senior Kremlin sources, said Akayev met with presidential administration officials on Sunday and returned home Monday.

A meeting with Putin would have meant that "Moscow was signaling from behind the scenes that it supports Akayev" — something that the Kremlin does not want to do, Dubnov said.

Akayev also came to Moscow in January. But since then, Moscow has also hosted his political rivals, Bakiyev and Otunbayeva — a sign that it is not putting all of its eggs into one basket, Malashenko said.

Tagged as: Central Asia